MANILA, Philippines—Remy Morada exploded in the fourth quarter to lead Emilio Aguinaldo College past Mapua, 82-76, in the penultimate game of the elimination round of the NCAA Season 89 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Arena in San Juan.
Morada, third-year guard, unleashed 18 of his team-high 23 points in the final frame where the Generals rode on his hot shooting to keep the Cardinals at bay.
“It’s a big achievement. The players, coaching staff and management are happy of what the team was able to accomplish,” said EAC assistant coach Andy de Guzman, who filled in for head coach Gerry Esplana.
“He is a hard worker. He is a streak shooter and sometimes you just need to build his confidence,” de Guzman said of Morada, who pumped in 13 points in the final three minutes.
Esplana is in China to attend to a personal commitment but de Guzman said that had the Generals were still in contention for a Final Four spot.
The Generals went just a game shy of possibly nailing a semifinals slot but falling short won’t take away the fact that they had quite a run.
EAC posted its first winning record since joining the league in 2009 at 10-8.
Mapua, which ended its campaign with the worst record at 2-16, actually led by as much as 13 before EAC battled back – putting Jeson Cantos’ career-high 24 points to waste.